Crushed (A Kim & Jared Fanfic)
by AznPerez
Summary: I've had a hopeless crush on Jared since freshman year. Never once had he glanced my way. I wish he could have just turned around and acknowledged me. I knew it was too much to ask for such a huge wish. My wish would never be true. To Jared, I didn't even exist. I just had to learn to let it go. But why couldn't my heart just seem to accept that?
1. Kim Connweller

**Kim**

My name is Kim Connweller. I'm 17 years old, and I'm a senior at La Push High School. I'm usually known as the "Shy Girl" in school, I was far from being popular. But I still had my group of friends, including my wild best friend, Jennifer Marin.

"Kim? Hello?" I snapped out of my trance, realizing Jennifer had been trying to get my attention the entire time. "Jesus, have you even heard a single thing I said? _I said_, let's get going. I need my food, I've been starving the entire day." She rolled her eyes, she probably thought I had zoned out on her again as she dragged me to the cafeteria.  
She left me to get a table while she skipped off to the lunch line. I sat down at an empty table, unzipping my bag and took out my packed lunch from this morning. I had just unwrapped my turkey sandwich from a bunch of napkins, when I heard someone plop down at my table. I looked up, relieved when I saw that it was only my friend, Andrew. I shouldn't have been so surprised though, nobody except my friends talked to me. No one else bothered to even try to have a conversation with me, no one really cared enough to acknowledge me. I wasn't important enough for anyone to notice me.

"How's it going?" He smiled at me with _that_ smile. It was that type of smile that sent girls swooning over him, head-over-heels crushing on him. I've known Andrew ever since my first year in high school, he was the guy that belonged in the popular crowd, till this day, I still never understood why he bothered to hang out with the rest of us.

"Same as ever," I shrugged, but I wasn't looking at Andrew anymore. My eyes scanned the room, looking around for someone. I was looking for a specific someone, to be exact. My little search stopped when I glanced at the popular table. He was right there, of course. It was where he belonged, right at the popular table. Just like any other Quileute boy, he had his russet skin tone, and chocolate-brown eyes, with his long, black hair.

Jared Cameron.

One of the girls at Jared's table looked up, shooting me a glare. I recognized her as Tiffany, the bitchiest and most popular girl at La Push High School. I quickly looked down to avoid eye contact.

It was bad enough that I wasn't popular for Jared to notice me, or even pretty enough for him to even glance my way, but I certainly didn't need anyone to think of me as a threat. Everybody knew that Jared and Tiffany were the "Golden Couple" around here, they attended every single event together, and they had no problem showing how much they liked each other publicly. I was fine with being shy, that meant I didn't get too much attention and it was just what I wanted. But the last thing I needed was for everyone to know I had a crush on Jared, the moment someone found out, every person in La Push would know. It would be mortifying, and it didn't help that Tiffany would destroy anyone she believed would steal Jared from her.

Andrew shot me a sympathetic smile.

Without turning around to look, he was already well aware about what just happened. He knew me too well. All around me the rest of our friends had already approached the table, they were either eating or they were also shooting me sympathetic looks. It was no surprise to the five of them, they all knew I had a major crush on Jared. I've always did, ever since the first time I saw him when we were in the 9th grade. Beside me, Jennifer quickly shoved her food into her mouth in an unladylike manner. Either she was way more hungry than I had believed, or she was doing that to avoid scolding me about my hopeless crush again.

"Honestly, I don't understand why she doesn't just move on." I heard Serena complain from the other side of the table. "It's pathetic, really. She's freaking obsessed with Jared, he's never even glanced her way, much less knows that she exists."

"Serena!" Miles snapped at her, looking my way. But I didn't really care anymore, I just sat and picked at my sandwich. I really wasn't hungry anymore, I had already lost my appetite. It wasn't my fault I fell for Jared, it's not like I could control who I ended up liking. It just wasn't fair for her to accuse me of that.

"What?" She blinked at him innocently, surprised at his outburst. "I was just saying the truth. It's true, we all know it's true. We all know that I'm right, this is what everyone's thinking, isn't it?"

"That's enough, Serena!" He snapped again. The rest of us remained quiet, looking at anything else but the two of them. It was awkward having them argue right in front of me like I wasn't even here.

She frowned, looking lost for a moment. She kept opening her mouth and closing it again, like she wasn't sure what to say to that. "Whatever, I'm just being honest here. At least I'm brave enough to let her know what I really think. The rest of you are so wrapped around her little finger, treating her like she's so damn innocent, hiding her from what you all really think. I can't believe you chose her side over me!" She shrieked at him, by now, I could feel everyone in the cafeteria staring at our table, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Miles is right, Serena." Jennifer started, shoving her tray of food away. "That's enough. We don't need anymore of your bitchy attitude, and quite frankly, Kim doesn't deserve to have you screaming rude things directed towards her."

Serena rolled her eyes, grabbing her things and left the table. "Oh, by the way," she turned around, directing a harsh glance my way, "she isn't worthy of Jared anyways."


	2. Drama Queen

**Jared  
**

"Jared!" Tiffany hissed from beside me. "That nerdy girl keeps staring at you!" I rolled my eyes, sharing a look with Brenden, my best friend. He shrugged at me, mouthing, "at least she's hot."

_Great. I'm on my own now. Thanks a lot, Brenden, you deserve a trophy for being the best friend of the year. _

"Jared!" Tiffany complained again. "She's still staring at you! Do something about it, please." She pouted. Of course she had to go and do the pout, it was her signature move. Many other guys would have fallen under her spell and did exactly what she wanted. Me? I'm used to her tantrums, any tactic she had, I was used to it by now.

Honestly, I was beginning to get fed up with her. She was getting so damn annoying, throwing a huge tantrum when she didn't get things her way. At first, things had started off okay-she was hot, and it was only right to date her since she was the most good looking girl in school. After a while, things began to get complicated and too serious, she was starting to get clingy and obsessive over everything I did, or every single decision I made.

"Jared!" She shrieked, agitated. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're supposed to do everything I tell you to do! Why aren't you doing anything about it?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't belong to you, Tiffany. You don't control every damn thing I do." I shot back. Her words made me angry, I felt myself began to shake.

_She doesn't control who I am. Who the hell does this girl think she is, a damn queen? _

"Whoa, Jared. Calm down, will ya?" I heard Brenden say. I watched him approach me cautiously, like I was a wild animal that needed to be tamed. I felt several other arms pull me back from Tiffany, practically shielding me from harming her. _Back off, Brenden. _"I think it would be better for all of us if you went outside, man. Go cool off a bit, alright?"

It was the best thing anybody had suggested all day. I fled the cafeteria quicker than I thought I would, ignoring all the curious stares and hushed whispers from the students. I shoved the doors open with more force than necessary. My muscles slightly relaxed when I felt the cool air on my skin. I felt like I was on fire, like somebody had shoved me in a fire pit and left me there to burn alive. I ran towards the woods, my body having a mind of its' own as I dashed away from the school. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, my mind was no longer in control of my body, but at the same time, it was like I knew exactly what to do.

My body shook even more violently than before. It felt like an eternity before I managed to stop shaking, but I was pretty damn sure that it was only a couple minutes that had went by. I felt strange. I felt the same, like I was still me-but I also felt different, taller and my senses were more heightened. I could hear certain things that I haven't heard before. I was pretty sure that I had run quite a distance from the school, but I could swore I still heard the buzzing of voices back in the cafeteria.

_Jared, stop running. You might harm an innocent bystander at the rate you're going. You need to calm down before you do anything else. _

_What the hell? I'm officially going mad. I'm going crazy, there's a voice in my head! What the hell is happening to me?!_

_Jared, calm down. You aren't mad, you aren't going crazy. It's me, Sam Uley. I'll explain everything to you once you've calmed down._

_Sam Uley?! What the hell, man? Somebody drugged me, didn't they? I bet it was Tiffany, she was sick of not being able to control me and she drugged me as revenge. _

_JARED! FOCUS!_

_Ow. That hurt. _I winced at Sam's voice. _Seriously? What is up with people trying to gain control over me?_ I snarled.

_Jared, calm down. I told you, I'll explain this when you gain control over yourself. But for starters, you're a wolf. _

_Calm down? How the hell do I calm down after you said told me that? How is this possible? I'm dead. I probably died and this is some twisted punishment for all the terrible things I've done. _

_Relax. Calm down. Once you do that, you'll be able to shift back. I just need you to stop panicking and I'll explain everything to you. _

I'm pretty sure I jumped ten feet in the air when I saw a black wolf approach me, but then I remembered, it was actually Sam Uley-of course, if this whole thing wasn't just some messed up prank or me hallucinating. It made absolute sense for Brenden to pay someone to scare the crap outta me with this wolf stuff, especially to hire Sam for the job, I was curious how he would manage to do that though. Rumors around La Push were mainly about Sam, how he disappeared for weeks only to come back and break up with his long-time girlfriend, Leah.

Sam was also rumored to be severely involved in drugs, I wouldn't be surprised if Brenden had actually bought drugs from Sam to make this whole wolf prank seem more extreme, then have Sam try to scare the crap outta me with this crazy stuff about wolves. Hell, maybe Tiffany was a part of this as well, maybe it was even her idea.

I heard a growl near me and I knew it was Sam.

_I hope you know I can still hear you. And this isn't a prank, Jared, how many times do I have to say this? Besides, if this was a prank, how would we pull off making you believe you're a wolf?_

I guess it did make sense. I just assumed that they drugged me long enough to make Sam dress up in a wolf costume.

_Well, then, you have got a lot of explaining to do, Uley._


	3. Jared's Dramatic Exit

**Kim**

Everybody turned towards the shouts in the cafeteria, Tiffany sat down in her chair and looked at Jared, surprised, while he glared at her like he wanted to rip her head off. All the other guys that sat at the popular table got out their seats, pulling him away from harming her, but it only made his normally menacing appearance seem more vicious and scary.

Jared started shaking.

"I think it would be better for all of us if you went outside, man. Go cool off a bit, alright?" Brenden spoke to Jared, his voice slightly wavering. I would be scared of Jared too.

I saw Jared nod at Brenden before storming out the cafeteria, bursting through the cafeteria doors. Poor doors. It seemed like with any more force, Jared would have broke the two doors off its hinges.

"What's happening?" I heard everyone whisper to each other. All the students began to gossip to their friends in whispers, even my own friends were starting to whisper about Jared in quiet tones, glancing at me to smile sympathetically every now and then.

"Aw, Kim. Stop frowning." Jennifer finally spoke. "Don't overthink it too much. Maybe Jared had a little disagreement with Brenden or the other guys. You know how they are, always making stupid bets with each other." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. It's not a big deal," Miles shrugged. "Maybe they're just worried about the big game coming up."

"Totally." Katie added. "But hey, why don't we just forget about it? No worries, right? I say that we all take our minds off this. Anybody up for pizza after school at my place?"

"I'm in!" Andrew shouted as soon as he heard anything about food. "I'm tired of this cafeteria food. It gives me a stomach ache every time I eat it."

"Then why eat it?" Jennifer rolled her eyes again. She always did that when someone did something stupid. "I'm totally in! The parents won't even be home tonight, something about working late or whatever. I'm pretty sure Louis could drive my car back home." She said, referring to her younger brother, Louis-only a year younger-and a grade below us.

"Great! Seems like most of us are in. Miles? Kim?" She pouted at us.

"Aw man. I don't know. I could use some pizza, but I don't know about Serena." Miles hesitated.

"Miles! Come on!" The three of them whined.

"I don't know. I gotta make up with her. You guys know how she is, she'll be mad at me forever. That girl can sure hold a grudge."

"Miles!" Andrew shook his head. "Come on, man. She's blind if she can't see how much you like her. And she's obviously not worth it if she doesn't forgive you, it was her fault anyways. You were just trying to stand up for Kim." That's right. Miles had a major crush on Serena, practically the same time I started having a crush on Jared.

If anything, Miles understood how I felt the most, out of everyone. The only difference between us was, Jared didn't even know I existed, but Serena didn't even bother to acknowledge Miles as anything more than a guy that sat at the same lunch table. It wasn't being friend-zoned, but it wasn't all that romantic either. Still, it was better than what I got. Hell, I would accept anything from Jared as long as he noticed me-whether it was friends, classmates, or just seeing me as a random nerdy girl to copy homework from-_anything_.


	4. I'm A Wolf

**Jared**

The Quileute legends are true. The legends about Shapeshifters, and how our tribe came to be, the Cold Ones are real, and Sam even explained about imprints-how wolves would find their soulmates after they phased, but it was supposed to be rare. I understood why Sam chose Emily over Leah, it definitely changed my opinion on him a little bit more, it didn't make him seem like such a douche anymore. And it also explained why he got so upset when I mentioned him on drugs. The guy glared at me and started growling at me, turns out, it was how he found out he was a wolf-he fled for two weeks, while everyone else had believed that he went missing.

After Sam managed to calm me down long enough for me to shift back, he brought me back to his house. A little red house from the outside-but it was way bigger on the inside. I still didn't believe anything he had to say, so eventually, he had to bring Billy Black. He was well-known around the reservation, and I knew his son, Jacob Black, who was a grade below me. They also explained to me that I wasn't the only one, aside from Sam to shift, there would be others that would shift. They told me the names of who to expect, in case I returned back to school, and I would have to watch out for any others before Sam could get to them.

"Wait… _Paul?_ You're kidding me, Sam. Paul can't be a wolf. It would make everything a living hell."

Sam shrugged, looking completely serious. The guy didn't even crack a smile. "Paul's a part of the pack. I actually expected him to phase before you did."

"But come on, it's _Paul Lahote._" I complained. Sam had a point though, even if the guy didn't turn into a wolf, or was never involved in any of this Quileute wolf stuff, he had the worst temper ever.

I knew him ever since we were kids, but then again, it was difficult not to know everybody when we all knew each other from back then. Paul's my cousin, but we had a different view of things. Once, I saw him look ready to bash someone's face in, even though Paul was the one to bump into the person. He turned around to see Paul, ready to tell the guy off for bumping into him, but when he saw who it was, he was terrified. He sprinted off, running as fast as he could, like his life depended on it-which in Paul's case, was 100% accurate. Paul ran after him, chasing him out of the school-the guy didn't gain any courage to come back after that, according to the rumors, he stayed home and faked a cold to avoid Paul. He didn't come back for two weeks. Luckily, Paul had forgotten the whole incident when he found someone else to target and bully.

Sam rolled his eyes, like he was reading my mind again. "That's why I need you to watch after Paul the most, the guy's a time-bomb, he could explode any moment. Besides, have you seen Paul? He's getting buff. He's going to phase any time soon-any day, maybe a week-that's maximum."


	5. What Just Happened?

**Kim**

It's been two weeks. Two weeks since I saw him. But let me elaborate on that a little more-it's been two weeks since I saw Jared after he disappeared. When he stormed out that cafeteria last time to "cool off", he never even came back. He probably decided to ditch classes completely, and just go home, then meet his friends to hang out after school.

But that wasn't what the rumors were about, people went around saying that Jared had gotten ill when he got home-and that was the reason he didn't come back to school. He had gotten a flu or something, and decided not to come back to school till he had gotten better. But the weird thing was, Sam Uley had been rumored to visit Jared several times throughout that time. I didn't even know they were friends, and that's saying a lot, coming from "the girl that watches his every move"-at least, that's what Jennifer decides to call me.

"Oh my gosh! Kim!" Jennifer shrieked when I got to school.  
"Ow." I glared at her. I covered my ears until she stopped shrieking so loudly, I didn't even hear what she had to say the entire time, it all just came out as one long word. "Are you done yet?"

"Well, someone's in a bad mood today." Katie pointed out. _Thanks for noticing the obvious, Katie. _

"I am not in a bad mood." I frowned. "Now… what were you trying to say, Jen?" I turned towards her, referring to her nickname I called her when we were younger. I didn't know how to write her name back in elementary school because I thought it was too long, so I just shortened it. The name's stuck with her ever since.

"_I said_ that Jared is back in school!" She whispered, glancing at everyone else, like she had done something terrible and was worried about getting caught. It didn't matter if she gossiped about Jared anyways, it wasn't like that would expose my crush on him-everyone else was talking about how he changed drastically, and that he had finally returned to school.  
"What Jen said, but she also forgot to mention that Jared got hotter!" Katie added.

I looked at her curiously. Jared was already good-looking, I couldn't find it possible to believe he could become any more good-looking than he already is. "Are you sure it was Jared?" I asked, I was still a little doubtful about the whole situation, even though every other student was gossiping about the same exact thing.

Katie and Jennifer shared a look, then rolled their eyes, turning to face me again. "Yes, Kim! We're sure!" They spoke simultaneously. That just earned my interest even more, it was like they had been practicing the perfect way to tell me Jared was back. It was like they prepared for every scenario they thought would happen when they told me. But seriously, _did they not know me at all?_ They knew I wasn't the drama type of girl.

"Oh… Well, that's nice for Jared. But ladies, we're gonna be late for first period." I said, glancing down at my phone as I turned off the volume. Jennifer and Katie shared another look again, like they thought I was going crazy-they definitely didn't expect me to react that way.  
"Umm… okay," Katie shrugged, confused, but still suspicious. She followed behind me, looking at Jennifer-I was pretty sure Katie was waiting for me to explode and start going into panic mode any time soon.  
Jennifer, on the other hand, she wasn't willing to give up so easily. She walked by my side, not questioning me like a detective (which she usually would do), and instead, it was like she was waiting for _me_ to react first. The three of us just walked to class together in complete silence.

I walked into the classroom, turning when I felt someone looking at me.


	6. Cousin Love

* Wow. This is my first writer's note. _Please_ make sure to notice those quotations around "Love" for the title, because I do not want you guys thinking the wrong thing. A friend of mine already did. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for the people that's been reading this fanfic! (Or ya know, just for the people glancing at the title and the summary, and looking away. Honestly though, even I admit, not the best summary in the world. I don't do short and simple, especially with that writing limit. If anyone has a better summary, let me know.) I know only _some_ of you would even bother to read this, but thank you for reading it, even though it might be irrelevant. I just wanna say THANK YOU for the reviews and the views and all that! I've probably used the words "thank you" a little too much in this note, but whatever, I really do appreciate it! & as for a certain question that I felt needed to be answered: I don't really have a specific day or time when I update Crushed. It's like, some days I would be super busy and all I wanna do is just go straight to bed and fall asleep. There are the other days, where I would just work on the story. So, sorry, but I don't have a specific schedule. But I can tell you guys _this_, I try to post at least one chapter a day. If I miss a couple days, I'd make it up when I have a free time, and do as many as the days I missed (or if I have extra time, I'll do at least two more.) This is getting way too long, and you also gotta read the actual story, which is even _more_ longer. So I'm done. Thank you for the people that even read this.

* * *

**Jared**

"Is it just me, or did Jared get hotter?"

"What's up with Jared? I thought he was sick, he's so muscular."

"Hey, back off, Jared's mine. I don't care what Tiffany thinks, they'll break up eventually, it's all about sex and reputation for the two of them."

"Don't let her catch you saying that, she'll murder you. But I can't disagree, Jared's hotter than ever."

"Oh my god. Is that a tattoo? I like it. Gives him that bad-boy vibe."

"He's supposed to be sick. What's up with that major transformation?"

"Come on, babe, Jared doesn't compare to me. It's obviously all steroids. He hangs out with Sam."

"Yeah, you guys. Don't you know about those rumors about Sam and about him leaving Leah for her cousin?"

"But that's just it. It's only _rumors_, you just said it yourself."

That's all I've been hearing this whole time I walked to the school's front entrance. I haven't even been here for more than ten minutes, and the gossip is already about me-fresh, new gossip, and add that with Sam's story-everything just becomes more interesting and a better tale for people to gossip about. Sam had warned me about it, though, it took a month before people would stop gossiping about Sam-even though he was standing right there, while they just ignored him. Even now, the story about Sam hasn't fully died down, they just learned better to keep quiet about it and talk whenever he wasn't around.

"Oh my gosh! Katie! Where have you been? Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, sorry about it. My sisters' were hogging the bathroom today. What up with that text? Something about an emergency?"

"Jared is back!" The girl screamed. I winced. _Was this really what the rest of my life would be like? _I wish the girl would quit screaming. Hopefully, I would make it through this entire day, or even week, without having anybody raise their voice more than necessary.

"No way! Kim is gonna freak! O-M-G. What should we say to Kim? Is she gonna get mad at us? Is she gonna faint? I hope not. What are we going to do, Jen? We lost Serena already, no way are we going to lose Kim! Wait, I take that back-Serena is a bitch, and obviously wants Jared for herself." The other girl went on a full-on rant.

"Calm. Down. Katie, quit talking so much. How am I supposed to come up with a plan if you keep asking me so many questions?"

As I walked to my first class, I tried my best to ignore everyone else that was talking about me. It was kind of strange having them talk about me, and they had no idea that I could hear every single thing they said. But seriously, don't they have some kind of filter or something? Most things the girls said were pretty… disturbing. Girls are usually the ones complaining about how creepy and perverted guys are, whenever they talk about them-and yes, I'm a typical guy teenager-but I wasn't the desperate type to go throughout the day, trying to flirt with every single girl and "complimenting" them about their body parts. Or maybe it was the fact that I didn't want there to be any problems and be the one responsible for Tiffany going and plotting someone's death, maybe even because Sam had brought up that there would be a time when I would imprint one day-which I kind of doubted, since it was supposed to be super rare.

I made my way to the back of the classroom, where I sat at a table with this girl. I never bothered to pay attention, all I did was sleep in that class, or shout to one of the guys on the other side of the room. I stopped halfway, standing in the aisle in the middle of the classroom when I heard a voice. I turned towards the sound of the voice. The girl had long, black hair; the typical Quileute tan that everyone had on the reservation, she was taller than most girls-but she had to be a foot shorter than me, she was skinny-but not too skinny, about average-sized. I stared at her, probably looking like a complete idiot, and I was pretty sure this would just add more spark to the rumors about me-but I didn't care. I didn't want to look away from her.

As if she felt me looking at her, she glanced at me, her dark-brown eyes meeting mine. I froze, staring at her for who knows how long, just gazing into her eyes. Maybe it was only seconds or minutes, it didn't matter how long-I just continued to look at her, my focus only on her-no one else. She looked away, then glanced back at me for a few seconds, and turned completely away to talk to one of her friends.  
"Stop being such a creep and stalking the girl, Cameron. Just move the hell outta my way." I growled, I knew that voice all too well. _Why did such a perfect moment have to be ruined by this guy?_

"I'm not being a creep," I retorted, lamely.  
"Sure as hell looks like it. Looks like I have new gossip for the school: Jared Cameron stalks the loser girl because he has no friends left." Paul smirked.

"Shut the hell up, Paul. You don't know anything about what's going on." I felt the all too-familiar shake that I'd have to endure for the past two weeks. This time it was because he had insulted the girl. I didn't bother to give him an excuse about why I wasn't friends with Brenden or the rest of them anymore. Sam had given me specific orders so I could go back to school: I had to stop being friends with people, and I had to distance myself from my old ones.  
"Did you just tell me to shut up? I know everything that's going on, Cameron. You joined Sam Uley in his drug dealing, that's why your mind is so messed up right now, isn't it? I mean, come on, why would you ever like the pathetic, quiet girl?"

I felt myself shake even more violently before. I was seconds away from phasing in this classroom. There are too many people in here, and I can't phase, especially knowing that I could hurt her like Sam had hurt Emily. _Damn it, I had everything under perfect control. My temper had been in check._ At this point, it wasn't even about me anymore, no matter how many insults Paul threw my way-it was only about the girl. I didn't like what he was saying about her, and comparing my popularity to her social status at school. _Is this all it's really about? People judging me because who I am in school?_ I was so used to being popular that I often took advantage of it, but I've never once, thought about taking back my popularity until now.

I punched Paul in the face when he least expected it. He glared at me, looking ready to attack-but that was when I saw him shaking. It was more like vibrating, I was the only person close enough to see, he wasn't fully shaking like the way I probably looked right now. Before he could have the chance to throw a punch back at me, or start shaking more, I managed to get him out the classroom and outside of the school before he could do any damage. I just made him more angry when I did that, causing Paul to shake and start cussing at me.

I had barely managed to get him away from the school when he finally burst into a large, horse-sized, grey wolf. He snarled at me, ready to rip me to shreds. I quickly shifted when I saw Paul lunge at me, but as quickly as he did, Sam had appeared and ordered us to stop. He had made sure to use his Alpha Command on us also, especially with Paul being around now, he was definitely going to need to use that.


	7. Is It Meant To Be?

**Kim**

"Oh my god!" Jennifer said. "Did you see the way Jared was looking at you? Oh my gosh, Kim, it was like love at first sight."

"Yeah, Kim," Katie added. "You guys should have _seen_ the way Jared looked at her." She said to Andrew and Miles.

"Jared looked at her. That's all. No big deal. I mean, the guy was going to have to notice Kim at some point, maybe he stopped being so blind to notice her." Andrew shrugged, digging into his lunch.

"Yeah, sorry. I hate to agree with Andrew, but it's true. It's hard not to sit next to a person for years, and not be noticed at some point, no matter long it took. And besides, the guy just looked at you. It's not like he was announcing his undying love for you." Miles admitted. "Sorry Kimmy." He frowned at me.

"No, it's okay Miles. Really. I appreciate your honesty, and you have a point." I told him.

"_What?!"_ Jennifer and Katie shrieked at the same time.

"Kim! You're not serious, are you?" Jennifer narrowed her eyes at me. "You were there when he was staring at you. I mean, _you_ were the one that had this staring contest with him."

I shrugged. "Miles and Andrew are right. Think about it. He's never even looked my way, or even knows that I exist, and just one day he decides to stare at me for the longest time? That just doesn't make any sense. I saw him talking to Paul, he probably made a bet with him or something."

"Okay, no. Just stop right there, Kim. There is no way you can be serious right now. We all saw how upset Jared was. Paul pissed him off, but then again, Paul manages to do that with everyone. Jared, however, has been the only person willing to stand up to Paul and confront him. Didn't you see how Jared dragged him out the classroom? There is no way Paul could have made a bet with Jared about you." I was still doubtful, even if both the girls kept making up excuses to defend Jared whenever I could come up with something.

It still didn't make any sense for Jared to randomly notice me out of no where. It was one thing to just glance at me and finally notice me, it was something completely different to actually stare at me-it was like somebody had told him that all along, the sun was actually green. It just absolutely made no sense, other than Paul or someone else making a bet with him. Maybe it was Serena, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. She was the only person that had a reason to announce my crush on Jared out of vengeance.

"Jennifer, Katie, stop confusing Kim. Her feelings for Jared are already enough to deal with, but now you guys are practically saying that Jared is in love with Kim by that one glance. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Miles rolled his eyes. "I mean, I know that you guys want the best for Kim. Trust me, you two are not the only ones. Andrew and I care for Kim just as much as you both do, and obviously Jared's the only one that can make Kim happy, but one glance isn't enough to make up for years of having a crush." I couldn't have agreed with Miles any more. He was right, just completely right. It shocked me sometimes, to know how well Miles understood me more than anyone else, more than my own best friend sometimes.

But then again, Jennifer didn't have to go through what I had to-she was the complete opposite of me. She wasn't shy, quiet, or even nervous around her crush, she was the type of person to go for it. It was the same for Katie, she had no problems getting a guy to like her-that girl was the complete package, I can't even remember a day time when a guy _didn't _have a huge crush on Katie.

"Kimmy!" Jennifer whined. "You aren't just going to agree with him, are you?"

"Sorry Jennifer, but both of the guys are right. It just doesn't make any sense for Jared to like me back. Besides, I may like Jared, but there's no way that I'm letting my guard down that easily. One glance at me can't make up for all this time I've had a crush on him. I'm not that easy to win over. And if anybody thinks I am, then they obviously don't know me very well, at all."


	8. Bear Fighters

**Jared**

"Paul, just listen to me." Sam said. "The legends are true. You're a Shapeshifter. You're one of us." I sighed loudly, earning a glare from Sam.

We've been here ever since the morning, and Paul was even more stubborn than me. Sam continuously tried to tell Paul the same thing over and over again, but Paul refused to accept the truth. He thought it was the most stupid thing ever, but somehow managed to convince himself that he was like Spiderman, except he turned into a wolf instead of getting spider powers. _Leave it to Paul to be the genius of the group._

"You actually think I'm dumb enough to believe this thing?" Paul questioned, glaring at Sam.

"No, it would make you smart for believing it. You're dumb for _not_ believing it." I corrected. "That way, we can all just get this whole thing over with. Then, we can continue on with our lives." Sam shot me another look. Even without Sam glaring at me, I already knew I was a hypocrite for judging Paul-_but did he have to take so damn long? _

I wanted to hurry back to the school and try to find the girl again. I didn't even know her name, or even recognize her-even when I tried to think back to every single place I've ever been to. I don't even think I've ever seen her at La Push High School until today. She had the typical Quileute tan that everybody had, but she looked new. Maybe she had family that she visited during the summer. Or maybe she used to live in La Push when she was younger, but had moved at a young age-it would explain why I never met her in elementary or middle school. It was another reason why I had to go back and find the girl, her life was a complete mystery to me. I wanted to know all about her.

But at this rate, Paul's stubbornness would probably keep us here until midnight. I wish Sam had brought in Billy to convince Paul, like how he managed to convince me. Unfortunately, Billy had went on another fishing trip with his friend, Charlie Swan from Forks. Aside from Billy, all the other Elders happened to be busy, so it was up to us to try and convince Paul. Or in my case, let Sam do all the convincing while I took the chance to annoy Paul.

"Shut up Jared." Paul said, without turning to look at me. "This is stupid. All of it stupid. You don't think I know what you're trying to do here? I know all about the drug dealing Sam does. Go find someone else to recruit in your little group. I don't want to be a part of this."

"Look, Paul, I'm not going to force you to believe anything that you don't want to, but at least think about the facts. And Paul, for the last time, I am not involved in any drug dealing. I already explained this to you. I never went missing. I panicked when I first phased, and I fled. The Elders managed to convince me that the legends were true, and I _slowly _accepted it throughout time-which is why I don't expect you to accept this immediately. Do you need me to prove it to you? I can go back and phase if you think I'm lying." Sam said. I seriously had no clue how Sam managed to stay so calm when he spoke to Paul. I would have given up after the second time, phase, and attack him.

"How do you explain what happened between you and Leah? You just came back for a few days just to break up with her. Or what happened with Emily? It was a bear attack, wasn't it? If you're such a good protector, why didn't you protect her from the bear?" Paul asked. If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed that Paul was doing this on purpose just to annoy the hell out of us. But nope. Paul was just… Paul.

Sam sighed. "I don't think you're ready to know about that yet. It's a lot more than just choosing Emily instead of Leah, that's not what happened. It's not what you think happened. You've got it all wrong, Paul."

"Why do you two keep saying that?" He snarled. "I don't know what I'm talking about. I have everything all wrong. I don't know about anything going on. I'm just wrong about everything, aren't I? Like you two know any better than I do."

"Maybe if you weren't being such a stubborn idiot half the time, you would actually know why." I responded. "We don't fight _bears_. This is reality, Paul. Honestly, it's like you don't even know our history. How do you expect Sam to tell _his_ part of the story when you go ahead and think we protect people from _bears_."

"Don't start another argument again," Sam shook his head. "Just go on, Jared. I don't need you and Paul to make the situation worse. You and I will have a _separate_ conversation without Paul when you get back. Now go and see your imprint, Jared. Just don't do anything you'll end up regretting. "


	9. Why'd You Get Detention?

*Yaay! My second writer's note, _ever_. I felt like responding to the reviews that most of you guys left. Haha. The things that you guys post are very interesting, seriously. No sarcasm. No lie. Anywaaaays. Seth will be added to the fanfic soon, don't worry. You just have to be patient. Keep in mind that this is a Jared & Kim fanfic. Also, Paul _will_ have an imprint. I'll be creating Paul's very own fanfiction soon, so be sure to look out for that. I'm going by the original imprint couples and their stories that Stephenie Meyer wrote about in Twilight: Eclipse, when Jacob had told Bella about imprinting. & in response to Ashton Girrll: Wow. Just... wow. I don't really know how to respond to this, because I kind of assumed that most of my old readers wouldn't remember me, especially because I changed my name and just completely abandoned that fanfic. I am actually planning to bring the fanfiction back. I deleted it because in my opinion, I thought it sucked. I wanted to edit it over, but I thought it was still completely terrible. And that was a year ago, so even now I can't even force myself to read my old writing, because I feel like my writing had gotten better over time. Now, here's Chapter 9.

* * *

**Kim**

Throughout the day, time seemed to past by slowly. I just drifted from one class to the next, just making an appearance in class. I'm normally a good student in all my classes because I'm such a quiet student, and nobody bothers to try and start a conversation with me, anyways. But I just kept thinking about what had happened between Jared and Paul earlier in the day. It was difficult to even bother trying to do any work and pretending to pay attention to what the teachers even said, so I just gave up.

I wanted to believe what Jennifer and Katie had said were true, but I also couldn't _not_ agree with what Miles had to say. Each of them had their own opinions on what I should do, but I was terrible at making that decision. I wanted to believe that Jared really did know I existed all along, and I really wanted to believe that he knew who I was-and deep down, he would return the same feelings. But there was also Miles, he knew what it was like to be rejected and ignored, he understood me the most-and as a friend who had gone through _almost _the same thing, it was right of him to want to protect me from getting hurt.

Both of the choices had consequences.

I could give in and decide to listen to Jennifer and Katie, but that could work both ways. I could really give in, and just hope that Jared would return the feelings, or I would be humiliated knowing that it was a bet all along-and that I could have prevented that by listening to Miles when he had told me the first time. Or, I could give in and Jared didn't like me as much as I thought, and he would compare me to Tiffany and go back to her. _Or_ Tiffany would murder me before I even made a choice.

Once the final bell rang, I quickly got out of my seat and darted out the classroom, even if the teacher hadn't even dismissed us yet. I headed outside, waiting for Jennifer to show up to give me a ride back home. I waited impatiently, watching as other students came out of the school building and met up with their friends, got in their cars, or just walked home.

_What's taking that girl so long?_

"Jennifer!" I shouted happily when I saw her familiar face, walking out of the school's building. "What took you so long? You're always on time. Did something happen? "

"Jeez, Kim. One question at a time, please." She said. "For starters, I got in detention. _Don't_ give me that frown, Kimberly Connweller. Not everybody happens to be a good student like you, Kim. And besides, sometimes _I'm_ not always early for everything, no need to look all surprised. Sorry Kim, but I have to get to detention soon."

"But aren't you supposed to be in detention right now?" I asked.

"I kind of snuck out…." Jennifer said. "But in my defense, if the teacher didn't want us sneaking out, she shouldn't have left the classroom. I have to go back, Kim. Sorry."

"Wait. How am I getting home? You were my ride, Jenn." I reminded her. "I'm not taking your keys either, I'm not leaving you here without a ride."

"But Kim, how else are you going to go home?"

"I can call my mom or someone. How will _you _get home? It's not like you could call your parents when they're barely around." I told her.

"Okay… Well, bye Kim. Call me when you get home?" she said hesitantly, before turning around and running back inside the school. I remained outside, a few other people had remained on school campus as well, so I wasn't too worried about being kidnapped or anything like that.

I pulled out my cellphone, dialing my mom's phone number. It went straight to voicemail. I did the same thing with my dad's number, but it also went to voicemail. I sighed, I guess it meant that I had to walk home from school. I rarely walked home from school because it was twenty minutes away, and I always just had someone to give me a ride. The few times that _I did_ happen to walk home was only when my parents worked too late, or if my mom worked an extra shift or something.

However, I was immediately thankful that out of all days, La Push's weather today was slightly warmer compared to every other day, where it was always raining or just cloudy. I had probably only been walking for five minutes (since the school had just disappeared from view) when I saw a car nearing me. I stopped, assuming that the driver just happened to be driving really slow, but the car also stopped when I did. I continued walking again, quicker this time, hoping that it wasn't a kidnapper when the car pulled up beside me again.  
"Kim!" The driver called out. I turned around, expecting to see Jennifer and then, start shouting about how she just ditched detention to drive me home. Or, I expected to see Katie or one of the guys in the driver's seat, that maybe Jennifer had called one of them to come back and pick me up. But the person I saw was someone I hadn't expected. Someone I would have _never_ expected-not in a million years. It was the one and only, Jared Cameron.


	10. Car Ride

* I know, I know. "You didn't update yesterday! Whyyyyyy!? :( " I had already explained and warned you guys that there would be days where I would "be super busy and all I want to do is go straight to bed and sleep." I'm not sure which Chapter I posted it on, but feel free to go back and read it instead of saying, "Noooo! You never said that!" Anyways, I am back today... but I will have to go and be busy today. _I was_ planning on updating as much as I could today, but I might just only have time for one update. But at least it's better than nothing, right?

* * *

**Jared**

"Kim!" I shouted, as I drove closer. Hopefully she didn't think that I was some creep. But then again, I did happen to find out that she was walking home because she didn't have a car, and just happened to be there at the perfect time.

Kim turned around, shocked. She glanced at the car, then at me, and then back at the car again. It was almost like she had believed that I would disappear any moment, like she was daydreaming and believed that it was too good to be true. She glanced around, like she thought I was talking to someone else that was also named Kim-but she was the only person there.

"J-Jared?" She managed to speak, unsure of herself. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to give you a ride, Kim." I answered. "I mean, I was just driving by and I saw you walking. I just thought that maybe you would like a ride instead of having to walk home from school."

"Oh. Uh…thanks." She said. She glanced at the car one last time, before she got into the passenger seat and closed the door. "You know, Jared. You really didn't have to do this. I wouldn't have minded walking home, you know."

"Trust me, I did." I said quietly, before I had even realized what I had said. "It's no problem, really, Kim." I added quickly, before she could notice.

Honestly, _I did_ have to give her a ride. When I had heard that her friend had gotten detention and wouldn't be able to drive Kim home, a ton of bad scenarios had went on in my mind. I was so sure that I was going to have a heart attack right then and there, when I had found out.

_Seriously, doesn't she know better than to let Kim walk home by herself? Sure, there's the pack-the three of us-that's supposed to go around protecting people. But La Push isn't safe when the others could phase any moment! One of them could have accidentally hurt Kim! Something bad could have happened to her! What if something bad had happened to her before I could get to her in time?_

"Jared, are you okay?" Kim asked calmly, but she looked at me, panicked. I realized I had tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I slowly loosened my grip when I realized that she was still here, beside me-safe. "You're starting to shake again, like the way you did earlier."


	11. Car Ride (Kim's POV)

* Okay, I was wrong. I had a little bit more time than I had thought. Here is another update. Kim's point of view. Ooooh. Haha.

* * *

**Kim**

I watched as Jared slowly began to calm down and stop shaking, altogether. I had begun to realize that it was something Jared did when he was angry, or just upset about something-it was the same thing with Paul, even before his mysterious disappearance today.

Paul has always had a bad temper, making it clear to the entire school-maybe even going as far as letting everyone in La Push and Forks, together, know how much of a bad temper he had. There has always been a couple times when someone had done something to accidentally annoy Paul, and he got extremely angry. But recently, Paul's temper has gotten a lot worse (if it was even possible), and he would start shaking. One time, I actually saw Paul shaking and I was pretty sure that I had heard him growl at someone in the lunch line, something about cutting in front of him in line.

"I'm okay, Kim. Really." Jared assured. "You don't have to keep looking at me like that. I'm not the Hulk."

I laughed. "Since when did he become a part of the conversation?"

"He became a part of the conversation because he's just so awesome. You don't like Marvel superheroes?" I glanced at her quickly, before looking back at the road.

"No, no. I _love_ Marvel. It was just a bit of a topic change, that's all." I shrugged. "But that's pretty confusing, Jared. First you said that you aren't the Hulk, and then you said that he was awesome. Are you a fan or not?"

"Oh, good." He sighed in relief. "For a moment I actually thought you hated Marvel. I thought I had ruined the conversation when I had brought up the subject. And as for Hulk, he's awesome. Who doesn't like a superhero that turns into a giant and smashes things? I just don't think I'm awesome enough to be green."

"Hmm…," I pretended to observe him, shaking my head. "I can't disagree with you, Jared. Doesn't seem like you could pull off being giant, green, and awesome like Hulk." I shrugged.

"Aw, Kim. You're mean." He frowned, playfully. "I don't know about being green and giant, but _I know_ I'm awesome."

"Whatever you want to believe, Jared." I shrugged.

_Great job, Kim. You just go ahead and insult him. _

All too soon, Jared had pulled up in front of my house. For some unexplainable reason, I felt sad that the car ride was over. It was amazing how a moment ago, I was incredibly happy because of Jared, and just like that, I was all sad.

I got out the door and closed the car door.

"Do you want to come inside?" I asked Jared, hesitantly, through the window.

"No. It's fine." He shook his head. "I actually have to go meet up with someone. Maybe another time?" He smiled.

_Come on, Kim. You know better than that. Of course he doesn't want to spend anymore time with you. He already has plans. Oh great, you probably made him delay his plans to just bring you home. Great job, Kim. He's probably super annoyed right now, regretting his decision to drive you home. _

"Oh. Okay." Even though I was disappointed, I still managed to give a small smile. We both said "bye" to each other, and I continued to stand on the sidewalk, waving bye to him until the car was finally out of my view.


End file.
